(Bloomberg) — Egypt said it has sent military aid to Somalia, the latest show of support for the Horn of Africa country locked in a feud with neighboring Ethiopia over a breakaway territory.
Most read from Bloomberg
A shipment that recently arrived in the capital Mogadishu is part of support “for the efforts of sisterly Somalia to achieve security and stability, combat terrorism” and maintain its sovereignty and unity, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement on Monday.
The North African country did not provide further details about the aid, but said it would help strengthen the capabilities of the Somali army and was part of Egypt’s obligations under a military cooperation protocol signed in August.
That pact followed a planned deal by landlocked Ethiopia to formally recognize Somaliland — which declared independence from Somalia three decades ago — in exchange for access to a port and military base on the Gulf of Aden. Somalia, which considers Somaliland part of its territory, was furious about the proposal.
Somaliland’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday it was “deeply alarmed by the transfer of these weapons,” claiming that “the Mogadishu government currently does not have the capacity to effectively manage or secure such a large amount of military equipment.”
Egypt also made an arms shipment to Somalia last month and will train its troops, Somalia’s foreign minister said at the time.
Ethiopia and Egypt are also at loggerheads over a giant hydroelectric dam that Addis Ababa has built on the Nile’s main tributary. Cairo has expressed concern for years that the reservoir could affect the flow of its main source of fresh water.
–With assistance from Simon Marks and Mohammed Omar Ahmed.
(Updates with comments from Somaliland in the fifth paragraph.)
Most read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2024 Bloomberg LP
